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Chris Claremont on The Wolverine

The Wolverine, yet another motion-picture vehicle for Hugh Jackman’s sideburns, is now out. I haven’t seen it yet, but will.

In the meantime, Vulture has an excellent interview on the film and the character, with Chris Claremont, author of The Uncanny X-Men in those most formative years of Wolverine’s development. He also penned the 4-part series on which the new film is based. It’s highly recommended reading.

On Wolverine: “The way I always describe Wolverine is, if you walked into Logan’s room at the X-Mansion, you’d be immediately struck that the room would be split almost literally in half. One would be a total shithole: clothes on the couch, beer cans wherever. This is a guy who doesn’t give a damn about anything; he just tosses it. There’s nothing sophisticated, nothing respectful; it’s altogether creepy. And then there’s the other half of the room, which is pristine, elegant, down to the bare essentials of what, for him, is life: a samurai short sword sitting on a desk, and maybe a few precious other items. You’d look at that side of the room and be instantly struck by the balance, the sensitivity. That’s the two sides of Logan. ”

On X-Men: The Last Stand, and the Dark Phoenix*: “I wish the “Dark Phoenix” saga had been done more effectively than it was, but that was out of my hands. That, unfortunately, was a clusterfuck from the get-go.”

On not being credited: “The thing about the credit … We did this mostly for fun. It was earning a living, but we did it for fun. There are still grace notes that make you grin.”